The Hold Steady to record song for new series of 'Game Of Thrones'

The band will record their version of 'The Bear With The Maiden Fair' with the lyrics written by Game Of Thrones author George RR Martin and music by composer Ramin Djawadi. Speaking to Rolling Stone, Game Of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss said the song is "one of the most popular songs in Westeros, beloved by nobles and commoners alike, sung at taverns and feasts".

Recruiting the barroom friendly rockers The Hold Steady made sense to Benioff and Weiss, who says: "We wanted our rendition to be bawdy and a little sloppy – drunken musicians getting up on the table and jamming while the rowdy party continues around them. There was no-one better for the job than The Hold Steady, and the song they delivered has been stuck in our heads for the last four weeks."

Fans will be able to get hold of the song, which tells the story of a bear at a fair who seduces a maiden in search of a knight, when it is released on seven-inch vinyl for Record Store Day (April 20).

The Hold Steady are not the first music acts to get involved in Game Of Thrones with The National recording 'The Rains Of Castamere' for the show's second season in 2012. Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol and Coldplay drummer Will Champion are also confirmed to make cameo appearances in the forthcoming third season, which airs in the UK from April 1.